Claimed By The Possessive Fireman - Flora Ferrari Page 0,25
on Dom the entire time.
“Why are you doing this?” he says. “Have I ever done anything like this to you, Dom? Ever? Would I even fucking dream of it?”
“No,” Dom mutters. “But I think you’ve got this wrong. This isn’t a fling. We belong together, Mark.”
He gives my hand a squeeze and warmth whispers up my arm, just then a white cloud parting to reveal a shaft of sunlight on the spotted oak of the table.
Finn makes a tsk noise and stands up next to Dad, glaring at Mom.
“What, are you okay with this?” he snaps.
“I am, actually,” Mom says, tossing her head, glaring at my brother and dad. “It might’ve escaped your notice, but it hasn’t escaped mine. Lilah is an adult and fit to make her own decisions. And, well, just look at them. Any idiot could see that they’re crazy about each other.”
Dad turns to the yard as if there’s a crowd there who’ll share his outage, and then turns back to us, his eyes fixating on mine and Dom’s hands together on the table.
For a moment, he just stares.
And then, whip-fast, he turns and strides for the house.
“Where are you going?” Mom calls after him.
“Out,” he shouts. “And I want those two gone by the time I get back.”
“Dad, wait,” I say, standing.
“Give him time,” Mom says quietly. “He’ll come around.”
“Finn?” I whisper, staring up at my big brother, at his gaunt face and his sharp eyes. “This isn’t some crazy thing. This isn’t a fling. It’s not a one night stand. It’s the real thing. I swear. Remember when we were kids and I used to talk about my Prince Charming, and you called me a big dork?”
He smiles, just for a second, and a light laugh escapes his lips.
“Yeah, yeah, and you were a big dork.”
“Well,” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes as Dad slams the front door and his car growls in the driveway. “I’ve found him. I’ve found the man of my dreams. And I’m not letting him go. I can’t.”
Finn bites his lip and then walks closer to the table, leaning down.
“Is this for real, Mr. Dallison?” he says. “I’ve known you my whole life and you always seemed like a good man. You’re a firefighter even when you don’t have to be. Dad’s always made a big deal out of that. And I guess it’s pretty cool. But this is my little sister we’re talking about.”
“This is the real thing, kid,” Dom says, passion making his words husky. “I … I’d never do anything to hurt her.”
My heart shimmers and seems to skip.
I …
And then the pause.
I love her.
Is that what he was going to say?
“And you’re happy, sis?” Finn asks.
“Happier than happy,” I say. “Ecstatic.”
Finn’s lips twitch. “Then I guess, when you get right down to it, it’s not really my place to tell you how to live your life, is it? But just know, Mr. Dallison – Dominic – if you hurt her, there’s going to be problems.”
Dom nods and stands up, offering Finn his hand.
“I’m glad she has a brother like you looking out for her,” he says. “But that’s never going to be a problem. I’ll protect Lilah and what we have until the day I die.”
Finn takes his hand and shakes it, and then he and Dom sit down, Dom moving his arm and wrapping it around me. I hug close to him, an inexorable smile spreading across my face until I remember the slam the door made when Dad left.
“Do you think he’ll come around?” I whisper.
“I hope so,” Mom says. “But I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“No,” Dom mutters. “Mark’s always calm. Or, if he gets angry, he never storms off. I’ve never known him to do that. But he has to come around. There’s no other way. We’re the real thing, Jess, Lilah and me. And there’s nothing in this world that would make me sacrifice that.”
“I feel the same,” I say, just in case Mom or Finn decide to make this a one sided thing.
But both of them are smiling now, exchanging a look as if to say, Can you believe this?
I look at Dom with the same message in my eyes, and he looks back, his eyes sparking, another message hidden within them.
A secret message.
Is it love?
Is this love?
I want to scream it at him, but this lunchtime has been even more complicated than I imagined it would, and, for once, I’m done with the drama.
For now.
Chapter Thirteen
Dominic
Three days